When can children enrol in prep?
To determine when you child can commence their prep year, use the
prep ready reckoner calculator.
What age can a child start prep?
Queensland children are eligible to attend Prep in the year that they turn five by 30 June. There have been no changes to the eligibility age for Prep since it began in 2007.
As a parent, you may choose to delay your child's entry to Prep. This does not require any formal documentation, assessment or approval by a principal. However, your child must be enrolled when they are six years and six months of age.
Occasionally, schools are asked to consider allowing a child to begin Prep early. To allow this to occur, there are legal requirements which must be met.
Being born in July is not a guarantee that a child will be given approval to enter Prep early, or that they are ready for school.
Starting school early does not necessarily give a child a head start to schooling. For the best start to schooling, attending a quality kindergarten program remains the best educational option for all children in the year before they start Prep.
As of September 2016, a new, more rigorous and consistent Early Entry to Prep Framework is being implemented.
It helps the school and the parent to determine if the child has the social, emotional, physical and cognitive attributes required by law. It aims to ensure that children who are younger than Prep age are ready to begin school.
If you are considering applying for early entry for your child in 2020, please ensure that you organise an appointment with the school office.
Further information regarding Prep options is available at Early and delayed entry to prep.